The Standoff
by joiedevivre2011
Summary: Maura confronts Casey. Note: originally posted on Tumblr - 3 chapters previously published, but the 4th is new. Marking complete.
1. Chapter 1

Originally posted on tumblr during my absence here. I actually just finished part 4 (not yet published) and will be posting all parts at once. I plan to mark it complete at the moment, but sometimes my muse has been known to drag me back into "completed" universes from time to time. Who knows?

Regardless, if you didn't read it on tumblr, I hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

The knock was booming, insistent, echoing in the quiet corridor.

She heard the distinctive metal on metal scraping of someone sliding the chain lock to open the door.

As it slowly opened, the look on the man's face was certainly of surprise. "Maura, wha—"

"How dare you!" she cried indignantly, clenching her teeth and shoving a perfectly manicured finger toward his face. Her eyes burned a fiery green.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand," Casey began to reply before the petite, well-dressed woman quickly interrupted him.

"You know exactly why I'm here, Casey."

"I'm afraid I don't, actually," he replied politely.

"You can't just **_propose_** to her like that!" she growled. "In fact, you didn't even propose. You gave her an ultimatum! 'I'm going back to Afghanistan, unless you marry me'." She shoved her finger into his chest, pushing him backwards into his apartment. "You can't just **_do_**that! You know she cares enough about you that she's not going to send you back to a war zone halfway around the world!" Maura was then forced to take a deep breath, which allowed Casey enough time to interrupt.

"Maura, I think you're overreacting a little, wouldn't you say?" he replied calmly.

"Overreacting? _**Really**_?!" Maura shrieked. "Jane is the most important person in my life. She's my _**best**_ friend, and I'll be damned if I just stand by and let her be emotionally blackmailed by a man who clearly has absolutely no understanding of what constitutes a healthy, romantic relationship, much less a marriage!"

"I love her!" Casey barked.

Maura instantly snarled. "Like hell you do, Casey Jones! If you truly loved her, you'd accept your orders and leave! What you love is the idea of having a woman pining away for you back home, worried about your safety, because you're nothing but a sadist! You _get off on making her feel this way_!"

"She needs someone to take care of her," he argued; his tone was condescending.

"No!" Maura refuted immediately. "She needs someone to stand beside her as her goddamn equal, you idiot!"

The soldier's expression immediately darkened. "You mean someone like you?"

"**_Excuse me_**_?_"

His lips curled into a smirk. "This isn't about Jane and me. This is about Jane and _**you**_. You don't want her to marry me because you're jealous."

Maura crossed her arms on her chest. "I'm not worried about my friendship with Jane."

"No, you're worried about losing the chance to have her for yourself."

The medical examiner was silent, shocked by the turn in conversation.

"You're in love with her," he stated simply and confidently.

Golden green eyes narrowed, quickly assessing Casey's intent in the conversation. "Well lucky for you, I'm not a manipulative misogynist who'll make her choose between us," Maura replied coolly. "Though I'm fairly certain she'd choose me any day over the likes of you."

"'Fairly certain?' That sounds like a guess to me, which is something I very much remember you don't do."

Shoving her index finger in his face again, she responded, "I don't, and I'm not guessing now."

"Do you honestly think Jane would choose you over the man she's in love with?"

"She's not in love with you!" Angrily Maura slapped her fists on her upper thighs.

"Sure doesn't seem that way to me," he said with a smirk.

"Then feel free to explain why every time we have a conversation about you, all she does is whine. 'Casey washed my underwear today. It freaked me out.' 'Casey cleans my apartment more than my mother does!' 'Casey and I, _you know_, last night, but I didn't, _you know,_ so I had to fake it.'" Maura's smirk was triumphant and smug.

"Well then the joke is on you, because she already told me yes," Casey snarled at the honey blonde.

Still Maura remained calm and collected. "Then if you think she won't change her mind, you're a bigger fool than I thought you were." And with those words, Maura immediately turned on her Jimmy Choo heels and stormed out of the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Confronting Casey fueled her.

While she originally had no intention of ever broaching the subject with Jane, having Casey call her out…well, that changed everything.

If Casey Jones was looking for a fight, little did he know there simply was no contest.

* * *

It only took half a dozen seconds for Jane to open her apartment door after Maura knocked quickly three times.

The grin that spread wide across Jane's face warmed something in Maura's chest, but she instantly reminded herself that she was there for a very important purpose.

"Maur, I didn't know—"

"You told him yes?" The honey blonde's voice was calm, revealing nothing. She watched her best friend's grin disappear and then her throat move as the woman swallowed hard.

Opening the door wide, Jane stepped aside to allow Maura entry. The two broke eye contact only when Maura brushed by her, and the taller woman immediately closed the door behind them, flipping the deadbolt lock.

Instantly Maura turned on her heels, Birkin bag hanging from her arm, and Jane knew deep down in her gut that something was about to happen. Something big. Dramatic. Neither would be the same after this conversation, even though she didn't know if it'd be for better or for worse.

Maura's hazel green eyes narrowed as she repeated, "You told him yes?"

Hanging her head, Jane looked down to avoid the now angry gaze. "I can't make him go back, Maur," she whispered, a threat of tears struggling to break through.

"You can't make him," Maura started to say before she scoffed. "Are you kidding me right now, Jane?"

"If I say no, and he goes back, and something happens, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Jane replied, slowly looking back up to meet her best friend's eyes.

Maura turned to the couch to set down her bag, and she rested both hands on its arm for several moments, breathing in deeply. Feeling Jane's hand on her arm broke down every wall of sensibility she'd managed to construct between Casey's apartment and Jane's. She whirled around and wrenched away Jane's hand with her own. "You don't even love him!" she snapped.

Suddenly Jane flashed back to the Paddy Doyle shooting in the warehouse, to the look on Maura's face when she'd snarled, "Don't you dare touch him!"

It was nearly the same expression Maura had now.

Blinking, Jane's breath caught and she took a step back. "Maura," she breathed out pleadingly.

"You know it's true! Why would you want to live the rest of your life being married to a man you don't even love?" Maura cried before her voice finally softened. "You don't deserve that kind of life."

"Then what am I supposed to do, Maura?" Jane replied, exasperated, before her tone took a bitter turn. "Tell me, oh queen of relationships, what am I supposed to do?"

"You tell him the truth! You tell him it isn't fair of him to give you any ultimatum, much less the one he did. You tell him that you don't love him," Maura enjoined, tears threatening to fall. "You tell him that you're—" The blonde doctor stopped speaking abruptly, realizing what she was about to say to her best friend.

"I tell him that I'm what?" Jane asked, now caught up in Maura's suddenly emotional discourse.

"Just," Maura backtracked, "tell him the truth."

"Tell him I'm **_what_**, Maura?" the detective probed, very much in desire of revealing Maura's abandoned statement.

Hot tears began their descent down Maura's cheeks and instantly her hands flew up to wipe away the wetness from her face.

"Maura," Jane begged, "_**tell me**_."

The doctor couldn't speak. The only way she could think of to convey her thoughts and feelings was suddenly just action. Launching herself forward, she threw her arms around the tall brunette's neck and pressed her lips to Jane's.


	3. Chapter 3

Jane quickly pulled away from Maura, taking one very large step back as her left hand, diamond ring now on her ring finger, flew to her mouth. "Maura, don't do this. Please." The tears in her eyes sparkled brighter than the diamond on her hand.

"I don't know if I can watch you marry him, Jane," the petite woman replied mournfully, turning away from Jane again, hands resting once more on worn arm of the red sofa.

Immediately Jane stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her best friend's waist, resting her chin on her left shoulder. "Please know that there are no words for how I feel about you, Maura," she whispered, her voice thick. "There really aren't, but I can't do this. You know I can't."

Violent sobs began to shake Maura's entire body and Jane clung tighter.

The two were silent for several minutes as the honey blonde doctor continued to cry, wrapped in Jane's loving arms.

"Please," Maura begged, still sobbing. "_**Please**_ don't marry him."

Slowly Jane turned Maura in her arms and lifted her hand to cup Maura's jaw. "You are…everything to me," the detective whispered. "I know that I've never actually said it, but I know that you know that. But we…Maur, we are so complicated."

Searching the brunette's dark eyes, Maura quietly asked, "Do you love me?"

"Maura." The tone was one of warning.

"Tell me. I need to hear you say it, so that I know that what we have isn't all inside my head, that I didn't get here all on my own."

Maura's words broke the dam Jane had built inside of her heart as a feeble attempt to contain everything Maura made her feel.

"I am so in love with you that it terrifies me, Maura," Jane replied softly. "Loving you just…overwhelms me sometimes."

Maura closed her hazel eyes, several tears escaping down her cheeks, and she looked down. "Please don't do this to me."

Quietly Jane pressed her forehead against Maura's and the two stood there quietly, arms wrapped each other, for several minutes, simply breathing the same air. They were so trapped inside their own little bubble, they never heard someone open the door.

"I knew I'd find her here," came a gruff voice, tinged with anger.

Startled, both Jane and Maura jumped back from each other, and the honey blonde quickly wiped her cheeks with both hands. Jane turned toward her fiance. "Casey, what are you doing here?"

"Following her," he growled, throwing a disgusted look at Maura. "It only took me a few minutes after she left my apartment to realize that she would come straight here."

As he took a small step closer toward the two women, Jane instinctively stepped closer to Maura.

"So I come inside my _**fiancee's**_apartment to find her arms wrapped around her best friend like she would a lover." His voice was low, the British accent still slipping through. "Would you care to explain, Jane?"

Instantly Jane began, "Casey, it's not what you—"

He quickly interrupted, throwing up his hand to silence the brunette. "Actually, Maura, why don't you explain to me exactly what was happening here?"

"I refuse to let you emotionally manipulate Jane into marrying you," Maura replied, thrusting her chin out defiantly. "She doesn't deserve to be treated this way!"

Casey's expression darkened. "I think you should mind your own business, Maura."

Stepping forward, brushing by Jane, Maura roared, once again thrusting her finger toward him like she had earlier, "Jane _**is**_ my business!"

"Maura, calm down!" Jane cried, placing her hands on the smaller woman's hips and pulling her backwards. Stepping between Casey and Maura, Jane faced her fiance and bit her lip. "M-Maura's right, Casey," she stuttered. "She's my best friend, so my business is her business, too."

"But_** we**_ are getting married," he replied, motioning between them, "not you and Maura. _**She **_doesn't get to have a say in our relationship."

"But I value her opinion and I trust her," the brunette countered. "What she thinks means a lot to me."

His eyes narrowed immediately. "More than you value **_my _**opinion and trust _**me**_?"

Jane swallowed hard, and with tears forming in her eyes, whispered, "That's not fair and you know it, Casey."

Laughing bitterly, he snorted, "You know what isn't fair? Always coming second to Maura. I thought perhaps that would change if I asked you to marry me, but I guess not!"

Behind her, Jane heard Maura moving around, grabbing her bag, and then felt a warm hand on her arm. "I think maybe I should go," Maura said softly, standing at Jane's side.

"No, Maur, please stay," the brunette replied tenderly, pleading silently with her eyes, before turning back to Casey, her expression hardening. "First of all, you didn't _**ask**_ me to marry you. You basically said marry me, or I'm going back to Afghanistan. You didn't really leave me much choice because I didn't exactly want to send you back to a war-torn country. Second of all, Maura has always come first almost since the day I met her. She is part of my family, and that's never going to change. And last but certainly not least, if you think I'm going to choose _**you**_ over her, you don't know me very well at all."

"What exactly are you trying to tell me, Jane?" her fiance asked somberly.

"I," Jane began to say, her breath catching as she felt Maura's warm hand on her lower back, "I can't marry you, Casey. It wouldn't be fair to either of us."

Genuine sadness washed across his face. "Jane, maybe you should think this through a little more. Be reasonable here. Don't make any heat of the moment decisions." While not normally a man to beg, his tone certainly implied that he was.

Maura, who'd been quiet since Jane had requested that she stay, suddenly spoke up, "I think the only person not being reasonable here is you, Casey. Marrying someone under the conditions in which you want Jane to marry you is cruel, especially in Jane's case."

A fiery expression flashed across Casey's face at Maura's interruption. "I didn't ask you!" he barked.

"Back off, Casey!" the brunette exploded, stepping closer to Casey to protect Maura.

Without thought, Casey took a step back, but before he could respond, Jane spoke again, her voice not wavering in the slightest. "I think you should leave now." With that declaration, the detective slipped the diamond ring off her finger and held it out toward him, holding it between her thumb and forefinger.

When he extended his hand, Jane let the ring drop onto his palm. Closing his fingers onto it, he slipped it into the pocket of his pants.

"I'm sorry, Casey," Jane whispered, tears in her eyes despite herself.

He ducked his head in acknowledgement and quietly replied, "I hope you change your mind. Maybe I'll come by in a few days and we can talk about this again." Then turning on his heel, he walked back through the still open apartment door and closed it quietly behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

The honey blonde haired doctor stood quietly beside Jane, rubbing circles on the small of her back.

"I can't believe that just happened," Jane whispered in disbelief.

Maura swallowed the lump in her throat before quietly asking the brunette how she felt.

"Sad, but," Jane turned her head to look sheepishly at Maura, "is it bad I also feel..."

"You feel what?" Maura implored.

"Relieved." The detective's sigh was heavy.

Maura turned to gently place her Birkin back on the red sofa and then turned back around, hooking her arms low around the taller woman's waist, pressing her cheek up against Jane's taut upper back. "It means you did the right thing for you," the doctor replied quietly.

Jane rested her arms and hands against Maura's and took a deep breath.

"I'm proud of you, Jane," Maura finally told her.

"What am I supposed to do now, Maur?"

"You do whatever you need to do in order to be happy."

Turning in Maura's embrace, Jane faced her best friend again. She bit her lip, clearly contemplating what to say next, first looking away and then looking back at Maura. Finally she broke the silence. "_**You**_ make me happy, Maura."

Sensing that Jane wasn't finished speaking, the honey blonde waited quietly.

The detective swallowed hard and looked away, whispering, "But I don't know if I can do this."

"What do you mean?" Maura asked, confused what she meant by "this" exactly.

"Be with you, be with a woman." Her gravelly voice was laden with sadness. "You deserve to be loved openly and honestly. I don't know if I can do that right now. Or ever."

Moisture clouded Maura's hazel eyes. "_**Ever**_?" She bit into her trembling lower lip.

"Maur, being g-gay," Jane stuttered, "it's hard."

"Do you not think it's worth it to be happy?" Maura asked softly. "Am I not worth it?"

"C'mon, be serious," Jane protested.

Maura narrowed her eyes. "I _**am**_ being serious, Jane!"

"Of course you're worth it, Maur," the brunette replied, "I just...I don't know why this is so hard for me!"

"You don't want it to overshadow who you've become. You want to be known first and foremost as a homicide detective," Maura explained, "and you're afraid others will focus instead on the fact that you're in love with a woman."

Jane gave Maura a small smile. "How do you do that?" she replied, amazed.

The honey blonde's brow furrowed in confusion.

"You manage to find the words to verbalize what I can barely organize in my own head, much less actually say."

"I know you very well."

"I love that you do. It makes everything so much easier with you. It isn't, wasn't like," she paused, glancing down.

"It wasn't like that with Casey," Maura finished for her.

"No," Jane whispered, clearly feeling guilty, "it wasn't."

"Jane, it's okay things didn't work with him. You should never settle for less than you deserve, and believe me when I say that you deserve everything you want."

"What I want is you," the brunette whispered, on the verge of tears, looking back up to meet her best friend's loving gaze.

"You can have me, Jane," Maura whispered in return. She grabbed Jane's hand and placed it palm facing down over her chest, close to her heart. "This," she patted Jane's hand lightly, "this is all yours, whenever you want it. I will be here as long as it takes."

"What if-"

"No," Maura quickly interrupted, "you know how I feel about 'what if's,' Jane."

The detective was silent for a few moments before she spoke again, looking away briefly before returning to watch hazel eyes. "You deserve so much more than I can give you, Maura," she responded quietly, remorse thick on her tongue.

"I deserve love, Jane," Maura replied. "_That_ is what I deserve, and you," she placed her right palm gently against Jane's cheek, "Jane Rizzoli, love me better than anyone I know."

Suddenly Jane burst into laughter, her dominant hand quickly shooting up to cover her mouth.

Maura blinked, hurt quickly washing over her face, and stepped back from Jane, wringing her hands together in front of her.

Her best friend's reaction quickly sobered Jane and she stepped forward immediately, placing her arms gently on Maura's upper arms. "No, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at us, Maur. We sound like straight out of a romantic comedy movie. The thought crossed my mind just now, and I couldn't help myself," she explained.

Instinctively Maura searched Jane's visage for sincerity, and finding nothing but, she relaxed, the corner of her mouth turning up into a smile. "Yes, quite a few things said tonight have sounded a bit trite, haven't they?"

Jane smiled back.

"But that doesn't make any of them less true, does it?" the honey blonde asked hesitantly, fear evident on her face and in her voice.

Shaking her head no, Jane wrapped her arms around Maura, pulling her in tight against her body. "I will always love you, Maur," she whispered into the smaller woman's ear, "no matter how trite it may seem. Nothing could ever make that not true, ok?"

Maura nodded gently against Jane's shoulder, then buried her face there, inhaling Jane's comforting scent.

Neither knew exactly what was ahead for them both, but standing together in the middle of Jane's living room, wrapped in each other's arms, silently Jane and Maura finally acknowledged they wouldn't have to face the road alone.

* * *

I'm marking this complete for now, and I acknowledge fully that it's open ended. It's meant to be at this point, though I know how annoying it can be as a reader to not have closure for a story. In the end, I feel as if most Rizzles stories are the same. Jane and Maura live happily ever after together, even with bumps in the road from time to time (those bumps simply vary from story to story). Right now I don't want the story to be about that road. I want it to be about what happened in these few moments that brought them to a point where they realized they needed to be together.

I hope you can still love me. :)


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